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Last.fm Lets Marketers Target Jean-Short-Wearing Eagles Fans

New Ad Tool Provides Access to Fans' Musical Tastes for More Interactivity

Welcome to the new last.fm. Looks much like the old last.fm ... but there's a creamy treat on the inside!

In a lot of music-branding campaigns, diversity of tastes is key to getting the most banging beats for your buck. Look at the recent Converse "One Song" campaign: There's Pharrell hitting up the hip-hop fans, Julian Casablancas pulling in indie rock and even mainstream rock fans, and then there's Santogold bringing in ... (we're scared to say R&B fans, and it's really not appropriate anyway) lots of other adventurous listeners who frankly cross all of these boundaries.

Smaller brands can often afford to align themselves with a particular artist or genre, but larger brands tend to (smartly) tick off as many boxes as they can without ticking off any of their consumers. For them and many others, last.fm is rolling out new ad software that allows advertisers to target users based on their musical tastes. According to the UK Times Online, the CBS-owned site's redesign this week was geared in part toward delivering better-targeted interactive experiences like this.

The Times piece highlights the usefulness of this tool for businesses associated with the live music industry, and, although these tools sound like they could deliver some real value for fans, they may just be the start for marketers. Last.fm users may be oblivious to the calculations behind the scenes, but what if someone who listens to The Strokes found a banner ad highlighting Julian's involvement in the free Converse single? Picking the most convenient entry point for a consumer would be the most efficient way to get them to listen to "My Drive Thru."

But even talking about multi-artist/genre campaigns is limiting the applications. Really, any music-focused campaign -- even with a single artist or genre -- could get a more-targeted buy this way, and, as Marc Cohen points out, this tool could be used for even non-music-branding campaigns ... Selling jean shorts? Go for Eagles fans. Cargo shorts? Nickelback fans. Utilikilts? Obviously, Songs for Soap fans.

The mind reels with horror/possibilities.

BTW, you can find me on last.fm under the name heyboyblue. I haven't listened to anything horrendously embarrassing in a while, and I've already scrubbed my scrobble of all the Hayden Panettiere, so maybe I can regain some cred/respect if you check it out!